The Rogue Protector
by Youwillneverseeme
Summary: When one of the Protector's most dangerous agents reappears after many years - Fred, Braianna, and Friday unwillingly find themselves as pawns in his game of mass destruction. Will our heroes save the day? Or will the entire universe be plunged into darkness?
1. Prologue

**The Rogue Protector**

Prologue

The cargo ship drifted through space. The thrusters streaked with piercing blue. The large ship was shaped like a cube, and built out of a gleaming, silver metal, and proudly displaying the logo of a yellow badge with a black 'P' – the mark of the Protectors. A crew of twenty people and an entourage of four fighter ships protected whatever they were carrying.

A faraway, alien sun shone eerie yellow and partially covered by a greyish blue gas giant. To their right was another planet, this one covered with plains of deep orange and oceans of gold. A thick belt of asteroids looped vertically around the planet's radius. Behind all of that lay a black wall dotted with hundreds and thousands of tiny lights: the vast reaches of space.

Inside the cockpit, the two pilots were strapped to their seats. The steering column was calm in the main pilot's hands, swaying left to right. The two glazed out into space, bored out of their minds. They would have thought transporting some very dangerous – and classified – cargo would bring about a pinch of excitement, but it was still as dull as ever. This was far from what they hoped for when they signed up with the Protectors, however, the work was straightforward and the pay was good, so they couldn't really complain there.

The co-pilot adjusted his cap. "I spy with my little eye something beginning with... S."

"Stars?" The other asked in a bored manner; the co-pilot shook his head. "Sun?" He shook again. The pilot looked down. "Seat?"

"Bingo." The co-pilot announced with no excitement in his tone. "You're turn."

The pilot tugged on his standard issue, red jumpsuit allowing him some much needed ventilation as he scanned his surroundings. "I spy something beginning with..." He paused for twice as long. "B."

The co-pilot sighed. "Again? Buttons."

The pilot let out an irritated grunt. "Okay, it's your..."

His words were cut off as something beeped. The pilots snapped out of their daze as the sound cut through their boredom.

"Hold on." The co-pilot said as he eyed the radar. A large, green oval was flashing before the small dot in the middle, which were them. "We're detecting a large object straight in front of us."

The main pilot stared straight ahead into the star-riddled black screen. "What object? I don't see anything."

The co-pilot switched back and forth between the radar and the viewpoint with neither of them adding up. The oval was getting closer, however. Several conclusions ran through the greenhorns head; maybe the radar was broken, maybe some kind of alien space goo had splashed on the sensor, or maybe it was just a lousy joke.

"The radar is still detecting something..." The co-pilot grabbed the radio connecting to the fighter ships. "Our scanners are reading an anomaly ahead. Are any of you guys seeing anything?"

After a short interval, all four fighters responded negatively. The two pilots continued to look on, baffled by the sight of nothing. But then something appeared before them. A small orb of light began to emit in the middle of space.

The pilot gasped. "What is that?"

"I don't know..." The co-pilot responded.

Suddenly, the orb began to light up brighter until it fired several lasers towards the entourage. The beams were launched as tremendous speed towards them. With no time to react, each ship was struck by a laser. The cargo shook violently as they were hit.

The co-pilot screamed. "What happened?!"

The dashboard, previously lit up like a Christmas tree, had immediately when dark. The pilot fumbled with the controls, punching random buttons, but nothing happened. "That must have shut off the engine or something! I've lost control!"

The radio waves spoke with the frantic voices of the fighter pilots. "Our ships have shut down! We're sitting ducks here!"

The orb of light began to advance on the drifting ships. As it neared closer, something began to materialise. Another ship, this one more like a dreadnought, revealed itself before them. The pilots watched in horror as the massive ship descended upon them, and they were helplessly floating there. The exterior was shaped like an arrowhead and painted a sinister grey. The length of the dreadnought was probably twenty times bigger than the cargo ship itself. It was massive!

The pilot reached over the control panel and slammed his fist into the red emergency button. An alarm filled the air as all the lights in the ship shone danger red. "Battle stations!" He yelled into the intercom. "We're under attack from an unknown enemy! This is not a drill!"

In the spacious cargo hold, the crew were on high alert. One by one, they rushed to the bay doors and set up defensive positions around it. Their laser rifles were trained on the only entrance.

The pilot jumped out of his chair, grabbing a laser gun from a cabinet. Before exiting the cockpit, he turned to the co-pilot. "Try and send out a distress signal if you can."

The dreadnought positioned itself beside the cargo ship, where the air-lock chamber was located. An airlock door slowly opened from the dreadnought and out of it extended a tube: a walkway. It extended until it reached the cargo's door. The point of contact made the ship shake for a brief moment. A few moments later, a pair of sparks appeared near the top of the steel, airtight door.

"They're cutting through!" One of the guards exclaimed as the sparks curved around the metal, leaving a visible black line.

"They must be after the top-secret cargo. We must protect it at all costs!" He pilot took cover behind a small, metal crate, and aimed his pistol at the entrance. "As soon as that door opens: open fire."

His words were met with silence, but he knew they got the message. The crew watched as the sparks chewed away the metal, the tension rose with every inch they travelled. Imaginations ran throughout their heads with thoughts, predictions, and ideas as to what form of diabolical creature was assaulting them. The pilot, himself, had his own mental library of alien encounters from his seven years of service, but this was unlike anything he had seen before.

Both sparks reached opposite ends of the floor, every crewmember raised their weapons slightly. The sparks disappeared with a hiss. The doors remained balanced for a brief moment before artificial gravity took effect and they fell forward, still remaining locked to each other. The slam of metal hitting metal was the signal for the crew, in almost perfect unison they fired.

The room lit up for a split-second with around twenty laser beams. Almost every shot was bang on with some hitting slight above or below the wide opening. The entrance was riddled with several smouldering holes, forming a shroud of thin smoke. However, for their aggressive firepower, they were shooting at nothing.

The crew ceased fire. Their weapons and the entrance were smoking. The echo of gunfire continued for a few seconds before finally dying away. After an interval of silence, another sound came from somewhere. It was faint and slow. It sounded like tapping, and it was coming towards them.

From the dark corridor, a lone figure stepped forward. The figure wore some kind of suit that covered the entire body. The suit had a grey, metallic sheen, and a helmet that covered the wearers face. The shape and size of the figure looked human.

He stopped, seemingly unfazed by the fuming holes and the pointed guns that surrounded him. "Hello, nice people." The figures voice bounced off the interior. It was a male voice, and it sounded like the something you'd hear from a royal professor, sophisticated and smart. "If you would all be so kind, please place your weapons on—" BLAM! A laser hit the floor behind his feet, three inches from where he stood. He did not flinch at all. "How rude..."

Without warning, the figure whipped out a blaster and a streak of blue zoomed straight from the end and into nearest guard. A strong wave of electricity coursed through the guard's body, pain screamed in every muscle. The poor guy shook uncontrollably before crashing to the floor, completely paralyzed.

The rest of the crew opened fire on the lone attacker. The figure leapt into a sprint and rushed across the hold, every shot failed to make contact with him. The figure continued to fire the shock gun with deadly accuracy, taking down another six guards.

The figure charged straight into another guard. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the Protector tried to aim his rifle straight at the attacker. At the last moment, the figure grabbed the gun by the barrel and pushed it upward. The laser shot straight into the air, destroying a light in the process. The figure then grabbed the guard, spun him around, and wrapped his burly arm around his neck. The guy let out a gurgle as the bones in his neck felt like breaking. Using the guard as a shield, the figure proceeded to electrocute several more crew before finally knocking out his hostage.

No more than twenty seconds after the figure had attacked, all twenty of the armed guards were having a long date with the mesh flooring. They weren't dead, just paralysed, unable to move. Only two of the crew were still standing: the pilots. The co-pilot was still trying to get an SOS message out, but the gunfire had put him on edge. The main pilot was hiding behind the same crate he used for cover; he was the only one remaining who could stop this unknown attacker.

A river of sweat dripped down the pilots face, his cap was soaked in it. The pistol shook in his hands no matter how hard he tried to steady them. Nothing had ever scared him before, but this thing was really getting to him. He couldn't see the figure, but he could hear his heavy footsteps over the low droning of paralyzed men. The steps were slowly drawing closer, and closer.

"Come on out from behind there." The classy voice spoke again. The pilot cringed; the figure knew he was hiding there. "You're not fooling anyone."

Acting out of impulse, the pilot leapt from his chosen cover. He spotted the metallic suit right in front of him, a mere foot away. He shoved the muzzle straight into the figure's chest, but before he could pull the trigger, his arm was clutched and twisted around to his back. The pilot yelped in agony, the blaster slipped out of his grasp and clanked off the floor. He swung his left elbow behind him, hoping to hit his attacker, but his attack was blocked.

The figure pushed the pilot forward. "I have no desire to hurt you." He spoke in a calm voice, made frightening by the fact he had just taken down twenty people single-handed.

The pilot swung around and flailed his fists; he may have been a pilot, but he knew a thing or two in martial arts. The first three punches he tried to land were effortlessly blocked with only one arm. The fourth punch was an inch away from the helmet before it was caught by the figure. That may have been a good thing: punching the helmet would have hurt him more than the guy wearing it.

The figure pulled the pilot's hand over his shoulder, executing an arm throw. He was pulled off his feet and forced into a painful spin before slamming into the floor. The impact came first, the pain came second, and then an electric shock came third. The muscles in his body began to spasm as the numbing pain engulfed his entire body. For a few brief moments he struggled to breathe before, mercifully, he wheezed a slither of air.

"My sincerest apologies." The figure spoke. "But I'm afraid you didn't leave me much choice."

The pilot squint his eyes at the figure as he struggled to remain conscience. He worked up the strength to mutter something. "What are you?"

The figure knelled before the paralysed man and brought his head before his eyes. He clutched the bottom of his bulky helmet and began to pull it up. He pulled his helmet off, finally revealing his face. Before, the pilot had so many questions about who was attacking them, now he had even more questions as he stared up into his face.

"You're..." The pilot crocked in confusion. "...human...?"

The figure was undoubtedly human. He had a long, spiky, black beard and a full head of kempt hair, both of which were greying at the roots. He had a pair of brown eyes that showed confidence. He had an intellectual look about him, the type of guy who valued science above all things.

"Wait..." A voice called out from somewhere. The co-pilot stood by the cockpit door, petrified at the sight of the human attacker. "I've heard of you..."

"You... know this guy?" The pilot managed to ask.

The co-pilot continued. All the while, he remained standing by the door. He could clearly see the damage the man had done, so trying to stop him himself would be fruitless. "Yeah, I've read about this man. He's Maverick. He used to be a Protector, one of us, before he went rouge a few years back. Apparently, this guy used to be one of the best agents before he tried to destroy an alien planet with a doomsday device that was intended to blow up the Earth."

"This guy used to be one of us?!" The pilot asked disbelieving. "Get out of here!"

"Oh, but I believe it's true." Maverick stroked his beard. "And I am here to take the precious cargo you are holding." He pulled a radio from behind his back and spoke into it, ordering whoever was on the other side to enter the ship and seize the cargo.

"But, why?" The co-pilot asked. "Why are you doing this? We've done nothing to you."

"Why, you say?" Maverick smiled. "For the greater good of the universe, my boy." Right on cue, a squad of people march through the opening. They were all human and dressed in matching uniform consisting of a blue jumpsuit and helmet. They marched in a military formation straight into the back, ignoring the pained guards slithering the floor. They surrounded a big crate lying at the back and proceeded to lift it up. The squad carried the crate out the entrance, back towards his ship.

"Don't worry, the numbness will wear off in an hour, and your ships will regain a small amount a power, enough to call of help. But heed my warning: The Protectors can't protect anyone, let alone themselves. If you all value your lives and your families: you should leave them while you can."

"You won't get away with this!" The pilot yelled as loud as he could, which was not very much.

Maverick laughed. "I believe I already have." He spun on his heel and began to walk away with the manner of a relaxing stroll.

The co-pilot rushed up to his injured friend. He placed a worried hand on his shoulder in an attempt to calm him. "Calm down, man. Just relax and breathe, we'll get you to a doctor soon."

"The Super Commander will hear about this!" The pilot ignored his advice. "There's not a galaxy big enough for you to hide! He will send his best agents to take you down!"

Maverick was a mere step away from disappearing into the shadow before he made one final glance back at them. His sinister smile was sill etched on his face. "I'm counting on it." Then he was gone. An emergency airlock door slammed shut behind him.

Inside his massive ship, he ordered his crew to take off, leaving the marooned vessels. They will be rescued eventually. He reached for his radio again.

"Stage two will commence shortly." Maverick's voice was messaged to every compartment on his ship. "Have my shuttle prepped to launch. I'm going to visit Earth."


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"You feeling lucky, punk?" The highly-paid actor threatened.

An action movie played on the television. Two people sat on the sofa, a boy named Fred and a girl named Braianna. Between them sat their robot companion, Annihilator 9090909 – or Friday as he was more easily referred to. Fred couldn't remember the name of the movie, but it was a straight-to-DVD sequel to 'that one movie where the rebel squadron with no cool guns or any armour, fought against that huge army of titanium robot drones, but they still won' – he's seen it three times and he still can't remember it.

It was Saturday morning, and the city of Barcelona was basking in the heat of the rising hot sun. There was not a single cloud in the sky. The beach was packed with sunbathers and wannabe surfers while the streets were teaming with shoppers, tourists and people just wanting to have fun. Yet despite this, these three decided to play couch potato, and it was slowly killing them with boredom.

Braianna brought her wrist up to her eyes and checked her black and green watch. She stared at it for a good ten seconds, hoping it would burst to life at that very instance. It had been almost a week since she had received a mission from her father, and quite frankly, she was more than willing to accept anything he threw her way. Even if her job was to clean, polish and wax the entire Protectors mother ship, she would make that sucker spotless.

_Come on, Dad. Give me something to do, please._ Braianna prayed in her mind. When her hope was answered with silence, she let out a long sigh.

Right on cue the movie ends and the credits roll. Friday flies out of the couch and spins in the air out of delight. Fred and Braianna remained stuck in place like statues, bored out of their minds.

"You didn't think he was going to do it," Friday laughed. He points his finger around the room like a gun. "But then 'BAM!' he does!"

Fred let out a drawn-out yawn. "Yeah... yeah, nobody saw that coming." He said sarcastically.

"I saw that coming, and I don't even watch many movies." Braianna added. "Plus, there was so much wrong with that."

Friday waved a disregarding hand to them. "You're just jealous you don't have cool lives like that." He flew towards a big pile of DVD's lying beside the TV. "Thankfully, we have many more to go through."

Fred and Braianna slumped further in their seats in unison, letting out fed up sighs. Fred glanced over to the window. The sunlight shone through, it was a beautiful day outside. His mind wandered to what his other friends. He wondered what Sir Percival was up to. He wondered whether Nora was around the skate park today.

_Oh, Nora... _Fred fantasied the perfect girl on the ramps, with her golden hair flowing from underneath her helmet. Those beautiful blue – BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP!

Fred's daydream was broken all of a sudden by a piercing beeping noise. Everyone traced their eyes to the source: Braianna's watch, it had burst to life with an incoming message. She almost struggled to realise it for a moment. Her watch was beeping? Really? A smile rose on her face; finally, she had a mission to do. Unable to contain her excitement, she leapt from the couch.

"Sorry guys. I'd love to stay and watch movies, but I got to run!" She said before bolting out the room.

With that, only Fred and Friday were in the living room.

"Well, I guess it just you and me, buddy." Friday spoke.

* * *

Braianna retreated back to her lab secretly hidden beneath her house, moving as fast as her legs could carry her. She had switched her civilian clothes for her red, Protectors jumpsuit. Now she was Agent Brains. All the while, she wondered what mission to save the world her father would give her.

The Super Commander was waiting for her on the huge screen, hunched over his desk with his glazed eyes locked on her and a steaming mug with the Protectors logo on his right.

Agent Brains ran straight towards him, screeching to a sudden halt a couple of metres away. She stood to attention, waving a salute. "Agent Brains reporting for duty."

"Agent Brains. One of our cargo ships was attacked yesterday. While none of the crew were seriously injured, the attackers made off with a classified piece of cargo."

"Do we have an ID on the thieves?" Brains asked.

"Yes... unfortunately." He rubbed the back of his head. "It was... Maverick."

Brains gasped, her eyes were wide with shock. "Maverick? The rogue? He's showed up again? What did he take?"

The Super Commander tapped a single button on the terminal; the screen was filled with the blueprints and pictures of some kind of device. It was shaped like a cylinder and covered with a miasma of wires and strips of metal. Agent Brains stared at it for a good, long while. It was the most peculiar thing she had ever seen, it almost looked like a shredded jet engine.

"What is it?" Brains queried, puzzled as to why such an intelligent man would take what looked like a worthless piece of junk.

"To be honest, we're not completely sure ourselves. All we know is that it is an alien artefact, dug up on the planet Zerva, and believed to be thousands of years old." He explained. "I'm afraid that's all I can tell you about it: the rest is classified."

Brains stroked her chin as she continued to study the blueprints. None of this was making sense to the young agent. She had read Maverick's file years ago, but remembered it for being so impressive. He was a genius, a master in several forms of martial arts, awarded hundreds of medals for saving the Earth thousands of time, the list went on.

"Listen, Brains. I'm not going to lie to you. Maverick's reappearance is news to everyone here, and nobody is more frightened than I am." The Super Commander confessed, Brains was reeled back by it. "He and I have... history together. If he's after revenge, I'm afraid he might come after you in order to get to me."

* * *

Once again, Fred glanced out of the window, taking his eyes off the movie. His thoughts turned once again to his friends. He couldn't just sit there and waste his life away on cheap B-movies; he needed to get out there. He turned back to Friday who was in the spot next to him, now with a bowl of popcorn in his hands.

"Hey, um, Friday?" Fred tapped his robot friend on his glass dome.

"Yeah?" Friday asked while keeping his eyes locked on the TV. He grabbed a handful of popcorn and 'ate' it.

"You want to go outside and do something different?"

Friday, with a disappointed look in his eyes, turned to Fred. "Aww, but I'm enjoying myself here. There's an awesome part coming up soon."

"It's a great day outside. There are a million things we can do today; we shouldn't be cooped up here. We can watch movies later."

Friday sighed and turned back to the TV. "Okay, I get it, it's a human thing. You can have fun then; I'll see you later."

Fred stepped out of his seat and walked out of his living room. He traveled down the hallway and up the stairs until he came to his room. Everything was how it was, the wardrobe on the right, the desk with the Mac on the left, the bed in the corner, and the many posters that adorned the walls. He went up to his wardrobe and pulled the doors open, revealing a heap of unorganized treasures.

He began to dig through it all. "I know I left my skateboard in here somewhere."

After a minute of digging, he pulled out his skateboard along with his helmet, and his elbow and knee pads. With his stuff in his arms, he turned around.

He was greeted with an unexpected sight: there was someone standing behind him. The first thing he saw was the clothes; a brown sweater vest over a pristine white shirt, a pair of black trousers and shiny shoes. Fred looked up; the face wore a scruffy beard and calm, brown eyes.

"Hello there, Mr. Luckpuig." The stranger smiled.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

A sudden shock filled Fred, causing him to reactively drop his skating gear. A small, barely audible yelp left his mouth. He jumped back, bumping into the wardrobe behind him causing a couple of unread books on the top shelf to tumble out. They landed open at his feet.

"Please don't be scared." The man spoke softly. "I'm not here to hurt you, I'm a friend."

"Who... who are you?" Fred asked as a lump formed in his throat.

The stranger placed his hand on his chest. "My name is Maverick, and I'm a Protector just like your friend, Braianna."

Fred kept switching his eyes back and forth from Maverick to the door. His parents were away and Friday was just downstairs, the movie could be heard through the walls. He might not be able to hear him if he called for help.

"How did you get in here, and what do you want with me?" The boy asked. Sweat was trickling down his forehead.

"How I got in is not important." Maverick explained. "What matters is that your friend requires your assistance. I must ask that you come with me."

Fred may have been many things, but gullible and stupid weren't on the list. He knew this man was lying, and obviously up to no good. He wouldn't have been surprised if it was a tiny alien controlling a robot shell. He pulled out his lucky dice and began to roll them in his hand. Suddenly, an idea sprang to his mind.

He wiped the sweat from his brow and pulled a faux smile, trying to act cool. "Oh, well, in that case I'll gladly help you out." He pointed towards to door. "If you'll just give me a minute to get ready..."

Casually, Fred started to slip away from the wardrobe and in the direction of his bedroom door. He made about two steps before the stranger grabbed him be the shoulder, pulling him back. Fred almost felt his composure crack as the man's fingers dug uncomfortably into his joint.

"You have to come with me now." Maverick demanded more forcibly.

"But I'm not ready!" Fred turned to face him, scourging up the best poker face he could muster. "I need, err..." He paused for a couple seconds to think of an excuse. "The bathroom! Yeah! I need to go to the bathroom!"

The smile on Maverick's face turned upside down. His eyes narrowed and his brows arched low. "I'm afraid that will have wait, Mr. Luckpuig. Time is of the essence."

His plan wasn't working. Maverick knew he was leaving the room purely to call for help. The bearded man was looking over him now, staring sternly at him with those dark eyes. Sweat poured down Fred's skin like a river and he swallowed hard. His eyes darted around the room, avoiding looking the man in the eyes. He saw his computer on the desk; he had last used it yesterday. His guitar was slumped next to his stereo player, collecting dust, he'd been meaning to pick it up and practice some more. The window shone brightly over his bed, he remembered his friends again.

A last chance idea shot into his head.

"Brains! What are you doing?!" Fred yelled as he stared at the window.

Of course, there was no one at the window: it was an idea born out of pure intuition. If he tricked him, just for one second, he would have just enough time to escape. In that same moment, Maverick spun towards the window. Now was his chance! Fred dashed towards the open door, slipping out of the man's grip.

"What?!" Maverick spun back to Fred, seeing him try to get away. "Come back here!"

Maverick leapt at the fleeing boy. Fred was moving fast, but his movements were slow and sluggish compared to his agile physique. He reached out and clutched the closest part he could: the hood of his green and orange sweater. Fred had just taken a step outside his room before he was caught.

"Friday! Help-!" Was all Fred managed to scream before a rough hand clamped on his mouth, gagging him. The last word came out a loud muffle.

Fred desperately grabbed the doorframe as he was pulled back, but the strength in his skinny arms couldn't resist the man's superior force. He was dragged back and lifted off the ground. His arms were pinned to his sides when Maverick wrapped his free arm around his chest. He kicked out with his legs, frantically trying to break free. His cries still muted under the man's hand.

Maverick kicked the door shut as quietly as possible. He sighed through his teeth, annoyed over how he allowed himself to be fooled so carelessly, especially by a stupid kid. The wriggling and squirming were no more than an annoyance to his unbreakable hold. The teenager's messy, lilac hair was bunched up against his nostrils; he predicted the boy used cheap shampoo during his last shower, which was probably two days ago.

"I'll admit you almost fooled me there." He whispered in Fred's ear. "You were close – but not close enough."

He began to move towards the big window, taking Fred with him. This part of his plan may have hit a little hitch, but it was still very much on track. He would sneak out through the huge window to his shuttle that was camouflaged nearby, and then he would take the boy to his dreadnought, where he will hold him prisoner in order to—

"Hey, Fred!" The door flew open - Friday had barged in, laughing like a maniac. "You're not going to believe what just..."

His fit of laughter came to an abrupt halt when he saw his master being kidnapped by some middle-aged man with the scruffiest beard he had ever seen. He gasped in shock before calling out his buddy's name. Knowing that Fred was in danger, he pulled out one of his many laser weapons, which was three times bigger than he was. The size almost filled the entire room. The weapons muzzle was pointed in their direction, his eyes locked on the head of the stranger who had Fred.

"Let him go!" Friday ordered.

Maverick almost lost concentration when Annihilator 909090 entered unexpectedly. His grip must have loosened on his captive, because he managed to brush his mouth free.

"Friday, I command you to— mmph!" Fred began to yell to his robot friend, but was stopped again by his captor.

_No! He mustn't talk to Annihilator Nine-Oh-Nine-Oh-Nine-Oh-Nine-Er._ Maverick thought. _He mustn't say a word to him._

Desperately, Maverick took his arm away from around Fred's chest, allowing his feet to touch the ground. He reached around his back and pulled out his blaster, which he had taken just in case. With a simple flick, the gun primed with a buzzing noise. He pressed the end into the side of his hostage's head, digging through his hair.

"Stay back or I turn your friend into dust!" Maverick threatened.

Friday remained where he was. On the outside, he looked unfazed by the man's threats, but on the inside, he was calculation odds. He judged by the high readings the man was showing, there was a high chance that engaging with him would cause him to vaporize his buddy. Regretfully, he back down.

"Good, that's good." Maverick seemed to calm down. He continued to move towards the window. "Here's what's going to happen. Mr. Luckpuig and I are going to take a relaxing trip to my personal ship. Don't even try to follow: you'll never catch me. Expect Agent Brains to receive a call with the next couple of hours."

He opened the window. Almost immediately, a shuttle zoomed up and stopped right beside the two. The door opened up and he stepped inside, his hostage still struggling away. Fred stared back at Friday, fear deep in his eyes.

"Until then. So long." Maverick said before the door closed. The ship went from zero to light speed in a second. Friday flew outside, barely catching a glimpse of the shuttle before disappearing from view.

They were gone. Fred was gone, that man had taken him. The robot floated there, panic was beginning to form in his memory banks. He was in trouble, his friend was in trouble. He thought he was all alone with no one to turn to for help, until he remembered Braianna. He zoomed straight over to the house next door. He knocked down the front door, rushed past her robot parents who were too busy playing with the microwave to notice, and blasted through the secret door to the lab.

Agent Brains jumped at the loud bang that erupted. Friday flew in, arms flailing like a madman.

"Friday?!" Brains asked startled. "Has one of your conductors short circuited again?"

He went straight up into her face; his eyes were wide, delirious. "Fred's gone! He's been taken!"

Brains choked. "What do you mean 'taken'?"

"He's been kidnapped by some guy with a black beard!" Friday tried to explain. "He just showed up and flew away in a spaceship!"

Brains paused, gulping when she heard the description. _A black beard?_ She shook her head. _No, it couldn't be. It can't be._ It had to be someone else. But she had to be sure. She jumped over to the monitor and erratically typed on the board, looking up the file on Maverick. She pulled up the file on him, complete with a five year old mug shot.

Friday gasped. "That's him! That's the guy who took Fred!"

Brains let out a horrified shriek, clutching her cheeks. The pupils of her red eyes narrowed to pin points. She knew that Fred had faced trouble before, but now he was facing one of the most dangerous men in the whole galaxy.

"But... why?" The young agent asked herself.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Maverick was there?" The Super Commander was back on the intercom. "And he's captured your friend?"

"Yes, Super Commander." Brains answered her father. Friday was floating right beside her.

"It's just as I feared, he's targeting people who have close connections in order to get to us." He brought his hand up to his chin. "But out of all the people to take, he chose your next-door neighbour for some reason. I don't suppose you know the reason why?"

Agent Brains paused for a moment. It had been about half-an-hour since the incident occurred, giving her plenty of time to think while she conducted a scan across the entire galaxy for his ship. She gave a quick glance towards Friday; the answer to that question may have been more obvious than she thought.

"I have no idea, Dad – I mean – Super Commander."

"Has he made any demands?"

"Only that he would contact me in the next couple of hours." Brains said what Friday had told her, it would be best if he didn't hear that Friday was the one to find out. That would just raise too many questions.

"Have you made any attempt to track him?"

Brains lowered her head to the terminal and pushed some buttons. "I initiated a galaxy-wide scan, but no sign of his ship has been detected. Perhaps he's using some kind of cloaking device?"

"Perhaps. Or maybe he knows how to deceive the scanners, considering he is an ex-Protector." A terrible thought popped into the leader's head, he cringed. "He may still know our entire network inside-out. He may still have knowledge on all our protocols, tactics, systems, base locations..." Sweat began to trickle down his brow.

He opened his mouth to say something else, but was interrupted by a brief flicker of static. The white line buzzed as it travelled upwards on the monitor, drowning out his words of warning.

"What happened?" The Super Commander enquired as another line brushed over his image.

Brains grunted. "I'm losing your signal. There must be something interfering with our connection."

The white noise began to buzz more frequently like a rising heartbeat. The man's burly frame and controlling voice were drowning in a treacherous sea of static.

"Bria—I—lose—co—," He called out in-between bursts.

Eventually, there was nothing but white noise filling the screen. Agent Brains was punching the terminal like crazy, desperately trying to find the root of the connection problem. Every button she pressed was returned with nothing.

She stared at Friday. "Go outside and check the antenna, Friday." She rose her voice to talk over the buzzing.

"Sure thing!" Friday confirmed before rotating to leave the lab.

Instantly, the horrible droning ended, restoring a tranquil silence to the place, except for the occasional beeping or hum of a nearby machine. Friday stopped in his tracks. Brains looked back up at the monitor, expecting her father – and boss – to be back, clear as crystal.

"Sorry about..." Brains started to say, but stopped when she saw the man on the other side. She gasped.

The person on the other side was not the Super Commander: it was Maverick! He was sitting in a luxurious, leather armchair. In one hand he held a wine glass filled with a deep red liquid, and in the other was a complex-looking book. Right behind him stood a massive bookcase, which covered the entire area of the monitor. He looked like he was in an expensive library as opposed o his personal ship.

Maverick turned away from the written literature. His face bore surprised when he gazed upon the girl. "My, my. Braianna Robeaux." He slammed the book shut and placed it on a coffee table next to him. "It's so nice to see you again. You've grown into quite the young lady since I last saw you."

"Maverick!" Brains stabbed her finger towards him.

"A pleasure to meet you too, Miss Robeaux." He said calmly before taking a swig from his glass. "I see you have your trusty, Annihilator with you."

"What have you done to Fred?!" Brains demanded.

"Calm down. You're friend is unharmed." Maverick finished off the last slithers of red.

He pulled out a small remote from his pocket and pressed on of the buttons. Shortly after, a chair - just like the one Maverick sat in - whirled into view. On the genuine animal skin sat a certain, teenage boy: Fred. His wrists were shackled to the armrests. He was clearly struggling with his restraints, wriggling his wrists, fruitlessly.

"Let me go!" Fred stopped when he saw his friends. "Brains!"

"Fred!" Brains called his name before turning back to his captor. "Why did you kidnap him? He's done nothing to you!"

"I'm afraid this is not about what he has done, but what he has in his possession." Maverick explained. He heaved himself out of his chair and moved behind Fred's. "I'm sure you and Annihilator Nine-Oh-Nine-Oh-Nine-Oh-Nine-Er are well aware of that."

He leaned childishly, with a big grin, over Fred's big head. Fred looked up, Maverick's face was upside-down in his vision.

"What are you talking about?" Fred asked.

"You'll see eventually, Mr. Luckpuig." He rubbed his hand through the boy's messy, purple hair. He turned back to Brains and Friday. "If you want him back, you'll just have to come and retrieve him."

From another pocket, he pulled out a silver device. He began to type on the touch screen. The monitor showed a series of numbers, most likely co-ordinates.

"Here is where you will find me. Bring yourself and your annihilator unit to this location in no more than an hour. If you fail to show up or alert the Protectors of our little conversation, then I'm afraid this will be the last time you see Mr. Luckpuig." He grabbed Fred by the chin, forcing him to look at the camera. "Say goodbye, Mr. Luckpuig..."

Fred gazed upon his friends on the screen, who stared back at him with deep worry in their eyes. He couldn't help but feel tears forming under his eyes. He drew in a deep breath and finally formed the word, "Goodbye." The screen suddenly went blank.

Agent Brains and Friday were left standing there. Neither of them could say a word. They had the location to be in and a strict time limit to be there. The two of them looked at each other, both of them knew they had no choice.

* * *

It was very cosy inside Maverick's own leisure room. Inside there, you would never guess that you were in the deep reaches of space. The lush carpet and royal, red walls were nothing short of quality. The bookcases reached from the floor to the ceiling, holding nothing but the finest literature humanity has to offer. He had so many books, but he was always expanding on his already impressive library. One of the walls was adorned with a giant canvas. The rich watercolours formed the lifelike picture of mountains, caked at the peaks with snow. The art almost looked like an actual window. The peaceful tune of classical music played in the background.

Maverick paced around Fred's chair until he stood before him. The boy was trying to put on a brave face, but even Maverick noticed that he was tense underneath. If he could, Fred would reach into his pocket and pull out his lucky dice.

Maverick aimed the remote and press a button. Suddenly, the restraints pinning the boy down disappeared. They were cutting off the circulation of blood to his fingers, so it was good to finally be free. Fred rubbed his wrists, feeling pins and needles form in his digits.

"While we wait..." Maverick said. "I'd like to get to know you better."

"What about me?" Fred asked.

"You're quite the fascinating specimen, you know."

Fred arched an eyebrow. "Fascinating? Me? I mean, I know I'm a great guy, but honestly, I'm not that great."

He smiled through his beard. "I've read plenty of stories on your endeavours, and frankly, you don't give yourself enough credit for them. Your associates look upon you and see some dumb, average boy who can do nothing right. I look upon you and see untapped potential, someone who can become something much, much more."

Fred continued to stare at the man, with no idea how to respond to that observation, unable to tell whether it was actual words of wisdom or the ramblings of some crazy guy.

Maverick continued. "For instance, do you remember that time you were afraid of Miss Robeaux being relocated to Antarctica?" Fred's eyes widened. How did he know that? Nobody but he and his friends knew about that. "Or the time the teachers at your school were abducted by Potato Brains?"

Fred raised his index finger, a piece of the puzzle clicked into place. "Then you must know how I met..."

"Friday?" Maverick finished his sentence, correctly.

"And you know that I..."

"Am the only one who can give him orders?" He did it again. "Yes, I know."


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

The silver space shuttle sped through the vacuum of space. Agent Brains and Friday were behind the wheel, heading towards the co-ordinates given to them. She had checked and double-checked the numbers, confirming that they would only lead them to an empty area of space.

Before taking off, she had stocked up her ship with weapons and equipment. Maverick was no pushover, so she would need all the advantages she could get. She had specifically equipped her rifle that fired the green slime that caught people in bubbles.

A digital timer counted down on the display. Ever since the message ended, she had been counting down every minute.

"So, what is our plan?" Friday asked. "Deal with Maverick and rescue Fred, I'm assuming."

"Actually, I'm hoping to complete the second objective first." Brains explained. "We need to make sure Fred is safe before we make our next move."

"Does that mean we might leave without stopping Maverick?"

"Not exactly: I want to find out what he's planning, and why he stole that artefact."

A few minutes later, they finally reached their destination. She eased off the thrusters, allowing the shuttle to drift. The sun shone on their backs, and the nearest planet was a desolate rock with rivers of molten lava. Despite the barren landscape, it was home to a primitive species of red, dragon-like creatures. Their extreme heat was the equivalent of a sunny day in Barcelona. Brains and Friday knew this because one of their missions took them to the surface of that planet.

Brains steered the ship in all directions, the dreadnought was nowhere to be seen. The radar was picking up nothing. She double checked the co-ordinates, making sure she had not make a single error.

"This is it." The young agent announced half-heartedly. "This is where were supposed to meet him."

"Are you sure?" Friday said. He began to look worried. "Unless we've got the wrong place, or maybe he was bluffing, or maybe we're too late. We're probably never going to see him again!" He was panicking. He embraced Brains, crying into her shoulder. "He's probably turned our buddy into dust by now!"

"Calm down, Friday." She reassured the robot while patting the back of his visor. She was keeping her composure, but deep down there was a tiny part that was telling her that it was true. "We've still got time. We..."

Something beeped from the dash; the high-pitched beep broke the hold the two were sharing. Friday's wild thinking hit a bump and he snapped back to his usual self. They looked at the dashboard, the radar was detecting something all of a sudden, and it was a big one. They traced their eyes from the radar to the windshield. Apparently, there was a very large object directly in front of—

The two of them were startled by the sight bestowed to them. Where there was once a vast view into nothing, was now obscured by a huge object – a spaceship. It wasn't there before, and they had only looked away for a few seconds. It was like it had appeared out of thin air, which was ironic considering there was no air in space. The large, dark dreadnought was facing to the side, revealing an entry point for its hanger. It was wide open, almost as if it was beckoning them to enter.

Agent Brains glazed her eyes over every inch of that ship. It was big, there was no denying that. There would definitely be many areas of that ship. She began to wonder where Fred would be held and where the artefact was being stored. She couldn't' help but cringe over the unspeakable things that terrible man could be doing to her next-door neighbour.

* * *

"And then I said to the Cuddlemuffin," Fred giggled. "Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you said 'mass debate'!"

Maverick burst out in a fit of laughter, amused by the boy's amazing adventures ever since he met Friday and Agent Brains. The tension that was once in place had lifted, the two were relaxed. Fred took a sip of the beverage Maverick had ordered for him: a milkshake in his favourite flavour. The liquid was thicker and sweeter than any milkshake he had ever drank in his life, it felt extraordinarily good going down the hatch.

Maverick slowed his laughter down to a chuckle. He wiped a tear from his eye. "That slaps me on the knee. My life is so drab in comparison."

"Hey, everyone always tells me not to compare myself to others..." Fred spoke with a modest attitude. In his mind, he was secretly trying to come up with a plan to fool his captor. Whatever it was, it had to be much smarter and better than running away. So far, he had managed to start an intriguing conversation discussing each other's stories, and it has put the man in a chatty mood.

All of a sudden, something changed in Fred's vision. It took him a few seconds to realise it, but it was the terminal screen in the lounge room, the same one Maverick and Brains exchanged pleasantries on. Previously, it was just a wall of green writing on a black background, but now it was picture – maybe a video. A small space shuttle was drifting before a huge battle cruiser. He squinted on the ship, and instantly made out the yellow badge with the black 'P'.

_They're here!_ Fred thought. A spark of excitement almost made those words come out of his mouth, which would have been rather detrimental. Maverick continued to express amusement at the boy's adventures, unknown to the Protector's agent boarding his ship. Fred pondered fast. _I got to keep him talking!_

"If you think that was funny – wait until I tell you about the time Brains lost her flux capacitor..." Fred began to talk some more, and it was working. Maverick was deeply enthralled, and had absolutely no idea that at that very moment, Agent Brains and Friday was landed their shuttle in the hanger.

* * *

The hanger was nothing short of expansive, it almost looked too big for the dreadnought to even house. The left, right, top and bottom were lined with an impressive array of ships, which made Brains wonder whether Maverick had built them himself, or retrieved/stole them from elsewhere. The girl was betting on the latter. The hanging lights above shone cones of light, forming white dots in neat rows on the shiny floor.

She set the ship down and popped the hatch. The air-conditioned heat in her ship was sucked out and replaced with a hollow chill. The air zoomed up her nose and smelled faintly of oil and exhaust fumes. She jumped out with Friday right behind her. In true soldier style, they both whipped out blasters and proceeded down the area towards the main door. Brains' boots screeched on the black, reflective floor as she ran, the same way sneakers sound on a gym floor.

Brains couldn't help but feel apprehensive in the short time since she boarded. Maverick had not contacted her while her ship was inbound, and he hasn't shown up ever since she landed. She began to consider that either hat man is toying with them, or he was not aware that she had arrived.

Friday didn't know what to think or what to feel as they infiltrated the ship: all he cared about was saving Fred, and nothing was going to get in his way. He recently found Maverick's file in his database, along with his impressive roster. This man was dangerous, but he was not afraid of him.

He approached the steel doors, the grey metal refused to budge. Brains moved to the side, her gun at the ready.

"Friday, get this door open, quietly" She said to the robot.

Friday observed his possible course of action. He steel looked thick and dense, but he could easily blast an opening. However, chances are that would alert the entire ship. He scanned around the wall and his digital vision spotted a small panel right next to it. He approached the square and pried the flap open revealing a bundle of wires, all of them the same colour: red. He stared ignorantly at the wires.

"I don't suppose you know which wires to hotwire?" Friday enquired.

"The green and blue ones." Brains suggested.

"There isn't a green **or** blue one!"

"Just pick a wire and cut it!" She insisted impatiently.

Friday sighed. He had a very good feeling he was in for a nasty shock as he reached into the panel. His metal fingers sifted through the veins, trying to determine the best one to pull out. He grabbed a wire from deep inside the bundle.

"Here goes nothing." He braced himself; chances are this was going to hurt.

The doors swung open. The thick metal went from a standstill to a zipping speed. The two gazed at the open space.

Brains smiled at Friday. "You did it!"

Friday pulled his limb out. His yellow eyes glanced at the wire, still attached to the circuit, he was about to yank, "It wasn't me..."

A booted leg stepped out of the entrance, followed by the person attached to it. The man was wearing a navy blue uniform, complete with a matching helmet, and a laser rifle cradled in his arms. Agent Brains had read a report from the eye witnesses of the attack that Maverick stole the artefact with the help of a squad, all of which wore the same style of uniform they described. She came to an instant conclusion that this guy was just some random henchman, like in one of those many spy movies she's seen.

The henchman's head was down and his eyes were obscured under his hardhat. He lifted his head and stared out straight ahead into the vast area. The silence was broken by two clicking noises, one to his left and the other to his right. He looked left, and spotted a girl aiming a blaster in his face. On his right, he was greeted to a similar scene, only this time a robot was holding the gun. Before he could react, one of them fired. Suddenly, the henchman was surrounded in a green bubble that lifted him off the ground. He floated inside the hanger, completely helpless.

The duo made use of that convenience and entered the ship through the open door. Brains said a simple 'thanks' to the guard before moving down the hall.

The design of the interior threw the two of them off at first glance. The floor was fitted with a royal blue carpet. The fibres looked brand new, and not a single speck of dirt or fluff could be spotted. The walls were decked out with mahogany and adorned with art. The ceiling was so high, almost as tall as the hanger, and fitted with diamond chandeliers. For a moment, they thought they had passed through a portal to a billionaire's mansion.

"Okay, now he's just showing off!" Friday sneered.

"Seriously..." Brains agreed.

They darted down the hall cautiously, stopping every twenty steps to check their corners for hostiles. They crept around the corners, and even jumped into an empty room to avoid a lone guard. Apart from that one henchman, the ship was way too sparse of life, and way too quiet. They could almost imagine a quintet band playing calming music in the background.

They traversed the halls randomly, navigating them like a maze. They found a double door and passed through it. On the other side, they were greeted with a changing site: a viewing window. The glass stretched down the length of the hall, all the way to another set of doors. Brains and Friday sneaked up to the corner and edged their curious eyes out.

Beyond the glass, lay a white room. The room was had ten tables set up like marks on a tally chart, with a big empty space in the center that was separated with glass. Several men in white lab coats scuttled around the desks, writing notes and such, things which scientists seem to always do.

The one thing that bothered the agent the most was that the scientists were all wearing doctor's mirrors on their foreheads, with black straps holding them in place. The hats were the same ones she'd seen worn by dentists. Just the thought of the dentist filled her with dread because she was, believe it or not, scared of going there. However, she dared not tell it to anyone, especially Fred, lest she wanted to get laughed at again, like that time she admitted she was afraid of squirrels.

From the ceiling inside the secluded area, a hatch swung open and a robotic hand reached down. In the machines grasp was the stolen artefact, the wires and fragments of metal encrusting over the hand like foliage. The scientists huddled around the display, as if the machine were some kind of celebrity. At the other end, a glass box was carted into position. Brains squinted, but couldn't get a solid focus on the contents.

Friday scoffed at the ancient piece of trash the white coats seemed to value so highly. "What could they possibly want with that junk heap?"

Brains remained silent as she whipped out her binoculars and brought them to eye level, pushing the rubber against her eyebrows. _Perhaps the answer is about to reveal itself..._ The girl thought as she zoomed in on the case.

The image at first was blurred, but a simple adjustment focused the image crystal clear. The glass box contained a small selection of plants, all of them from different planets. Some wild vines had grown around a stack of bricks; the top brick was made of wood, the middle was stone, and the bottom was metal. Some stirred underneath an Earth mushroom, and a pair of long, white ears popped out from under it. The rabbit hopped out into the small opening and scratched itself with its foot.

Brains ears picked up a whirling noise. She dropped the binoculars to find that the artefact was being positioned above the case containing the plants, bricks, and rabbit. The artefact rotated so the smashed end was pointing at the case.

"Firing test procedure is now in session." A voice announced on the overhead speakers.

Both Agent Brains and Friday paused from a second before staring at each other with puzzled looks. "Did he just say... firing test?" Brains was flabbergasted.

The two swung back to the so-called 'test' taking place before them. The scientists all strapped tinted goggled and ear protectors on.

The speakers continued. "Test firing will commence in ten seconds." A low, buzzing noise vibrated through the ship's structure. The artefact sparked to life as, apparently, electricity was being pumped through the shell. The buzzing noise only got louder and louder, as if the machine was charging up. The bunny in the case was oblivious to what was about to happen. "Firing in five... four... three... two... one..."

There was a brief pause, a stop in time as the artefact reached maximum power. Everything went dark, and nothing mattered apart from the artefact and the case below it. They all held their breath, bewildered by what was about to happen.

"Fire."

The end of the artefact fired a piercing beam of pure white, blasting the case with tremendous power. The beam buzzed as loud as an explosion. Brains and Friday were blinded and deafened at the same time. They both plugged their ears and crushed their eyelids shut as they hit the deck. It felt like the entire ship was about to get blow away. They just laid there and prayed from the blinding light and horrible noise to stop.

The noise stopped instantly along with the light. After a few seconds, Brains worked up the courage to open her eyes and unplug her ears. At first, her vision was dim and her ears remained ringing with that terrifying drone, but that quickly passed. She turned to Friday, who was just as shocked as she was.

"What just happened...?" Friday whispered to Brains' ringing eardrums.

They both jumped up and pressed themselves against the glass. After the spectacle they just witnessed, they just had to know. The lab was just how it was seconds ago, the scientists remained where they stood and were now removing their safety gear. The artefact was smoking from the end. But something had changed.

Brains grabbed her binoculars and zoomed in on the display case. What she saw was unbelievable: all three of the bricks, the innocent bunny rabbit, and even the glass casing itself were gone – vanished into thin air, blasted into nothing. However, the plants were still on the table they were placed on, completely unscathed by whatever that thing fired. The scientists, upon seeing the result, began to clap and cheer. It was a roaring success.

"Test complete." The speaker went on. "Results are highly satisfactory."

Brains dropped the binoculars; her eyes were wide with terror. "...Oh, no..."

"What is it?" Friday asked.

Brains seize Friday by the dome and shook him madly. "It's a weapon! The artefact is a weapon!" She shrieked. "The bricks and rabbit are gone, but the plants are okay!" She then realised she was getting way ahead of herself. Already she was struggling to comprehend how the ray gun did that when she needed to remain focused on the task at hand, and that was to find Fred. She released Friday and took a deep, calming mouthful of air.

Friday wobbled until he retrieved his balance. "But why would he want that? And how does that even work?"

"I don't know, but whatever it means, its bad news." The artefact-now-ray gun was taken out of the lab through the ceiling. "He can't be allowed to use that weapon. Not at all."


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

He duo had spent the next five minutes navigating the halls of the dreadnought, Friday was pretty certain they had passed the same room three times. The events from the test were still fresh in their minds, Brains' more than Friday's. They could only imagine what someone would want to do with a weapon such as the one they witnessed, best not to find out.

The agent had her head lowered, finding it hard to concentrate, her thoughts filled with static. She stared down at her boots, sinking with every step into the immaculate carpet. Every time she closed her eyes, her irises were burned by the blinding white, and if she listened hard enough, she could still hear the thundering drone simmered down to a slight hum. It was like she had been scarred for life, lost a piece that would never return.

"Are you okay, Brains?" Friday asked concerned. She didn't answer. "Brains!" He spoke up, causing her head to jerk up.

She looked up to the robot with glazed eyes which seemed to be looking through him. She automatically followed the path around a corner. "Sorry, Friday. I was just thinking about..."

"It's Agent Brains! Get her!"

Brains snapped out of her haze. She just noticed a group of men wearing matching uniforms, the same ones worn by the henchman back at the hanger, straight ahead. The guards opened fire with their laser rifles. Agent Brains' years of training and natural reactions kick in and dove for cover behind the corner as beams of blue were hurled at them. Neither of them was hit.

"Use non-lethal force!" Another henchman hollered. "Captain Maverick needs her alive!"

Brains braced as more shots hit the corner, sending shimmers through the wood. She caught a quick glance at the patrol; there were five of them, standing in an arrowhead formation with no cover whatsoever. She pulled back as more shots impacted uncomfortably close. She turned to Friday, who was right next to her, with his blaster in hand. They exchanged looks, and came up with retaliation without saying a word.

Agent Brains dove from cover, firing wildly as she sailed through the air. Friday popped out and blasted away. Several trails of green flew down the hall; four out of five guards were hit by the goo and enveloped in green bubbles. The last guard saw his comrades subdued, dropping his gun in a frightened fashion.

"Alarm!" The guard screeched, turning to run. "Sound the alarm!"

Brains spotted the guard fleeing in fear. If he got to an alarm, the entire ship would be down on them. He had to be stopped. She could careful aim at the guard and fired, as she hoped, the projectile hit its mark, the guard was trapped.

Without wasting time, Brains and Friday continued down the hall, leaving the guards to their fate. She was in full concentration mode, worried that someone may have heard the gunfire and had now alerted the ship.

Suddenly, they heard something echoing from down a hallway. They stopped in their tracks and listened. It sounded like laughter, a thick, harsh one. Brains placed her index finger over her lips, followed by a quiet shush. She tiptoed towards the laughter's direction, the carpet softening her steps.

They approached an empty door; the sniggering was the strongest at this point. They edged over to the edge, Friday floated over her head. Brains peeked around the corner. The room she seen was big. She sighed because all the rooms in this ship were big, and quite frankly, the novelty had overstayed its welcome. The walls were covered with bookcases, and the far wall held a canvas of a mountain landscape. In the middle of the room, hunched around a terminal, stood two leather chairs. The laughter resonated from the chair on the left.

"And that's not even the best part..." A young boy's voice said from the chair on the left. Brains and Friday gasped in a mixed sense of shock and relief as they recognised the voice: it was Fred! "Friday had that 'I'm a moron' note stuck on his back for six days." His response was met with even more roaring from the man in the other chair, undoubtedly his captor. "Braianna and I had a bet as to how long before he found out. I won, of course."

At that point, Brains realised what he was doing. Without taking her eyes of the chairs, she addressed Friday. "This is it. This is our chance to capture Maverick and end his little plan." She primed the blaster in her hands, Friday followed suit. "We're going to sneak up on him and arrest him."

The two of them crept into the room and towards the chairs. The air was thick and musky with the smell of wine and whiskey. The room was dimly lit, with the terminal being the only source of light, but bear in mind it was a pretty big light. The chairs cast long shadows on the rug, which must have been exclusively selected for this room only. Brains felt a rise in excitement as they closed in on the chairs: she would be meeting the Protector's best (and worst) agent face to face.

She went straight down the middle while Friday moved to the other side of the laughing chair, with the intent to pincer the suspect. The figures in the seats began to show up as she got close. She shot a quick glance over at Fred's chair, and spotted the boy's features as she neared; his lilac hair, small nose, familiar smile, bright eyes – the boy was undoubtedly Fred. She turned back to the other chair, there sat a man with black hair and stern, down eyes.

This was their chance; she nodded to Friday before they both made their move. "Freeze!" Brains yelled. They drew their guns and pointed them directly at Maverick from both sides. The laughter came to an abrupt halt.

Fred jumped with shock, the two of them materialized from the darkness like ghosts. His surprise quickly turned to happiness when he realised it was his friends. "Brains! Friday! You're here!" He leapt from his seat and ran behind them, his feelings just wanted to embrace his friends with a big hug, but now wasn't the time. "I'm glad you showed up when you did. I was getting tired of talking to this guy."

Maverick remained in his seat. He switched his eyes from side to side, seeing Agent Brains on his left and Friday on the right, both of them pointing blasters into his face.

"Nice of you to join us, Miss Robeaux..." He spoke with the same amount of urgency as doing laundry, unfazed by the guns in his face. "I see you have brought your annihilator unit as well, just as I predicted."

"You're under arrest, Maverick." Brains said, annoyed by the limp reaction promoted by him. In her line of work, shoving a laser gun in someone (or something's) face was met with mixed reactions, some cowered while others didn't. "You and all of your cronies are going to jail."

He shook his head, disappointed. "Oh, Miss Robeaux, did you really think you got the drop on me? Do you think I just leave my stealth systems switched off, and the hanger doors wide open for anyone to enter?"

"How did you...?" Brains muttered under her breath, barely audible to the others. _Is this a trap?_ She thought, all of a sudden.

"And if I were to guess, you didn't encounter much resistance reaching me?" Maverick turned to face her, staring straight into the gun's green nozzle. "Well, I'm afraid all that is about to change... right now."

The agent had had enough of hearing this crazy man's rambling. She was inches away from pulling the trigger until suddenly, Friday just went ballistic. A piercing, blue beam was fired out of nowhere and struck him. Sparks flickered off his metal body; his arms wobbled and shook in every direction. Hypnotic rings formed in his yellow eyes. He began to sing madly.

"Friday!" Fred and Brains cried in unison. The beam dragged Friday away through the ceiling. He was gone.

In that split-second of madness, she had done the worst possible thing: took her focus off the main suspect. Before she knew it, the blaster was pulled straight out of her grip. Maverick had shot to his feet and pushed her away. Brains fell on her backside.

"Brains!" Fred shrieked in horror. Everything had gone from calm to crazy in a heartbeat. His robot buddy was whisked away in that laser, and now Braianna was flat on the ground.

Maverick dangled the gun harmlessly in one hand while shaking his index finger on the other. "Ah, ah, ah! You shouldn't be playing with dangerous weapons, Miss Robeaux, you might hurt someone." Then, in one swift motion, he opened a small compartment and pulled a piece out. The firearm's light faded to black, dead, disarmed. He threw both of them away.

"What have you done to Friday?!" Fred demanded.

"Don't worry. Your robot friend is in good hands. He's just being moved to an isolated unit where he can cause no harm."

Agent Brains arched back and placed her hands flat on the ground before pushing forward and performing a perfect kip-up. She landed straight into a martial arts pose with her knees bent, her left arm on guard and her right balled into a fist, ready to strike. She locked her red eyes on his brown ones, averting all her concentration on this target.

"This is between you and me, Maverick!" Brains exclaimed. "I've heard your goons say that you need me alive, so I know you can't kill me."

"Perhaps not... but I can still hurt you badly." Maverick said.

She lunged towards him, leading her attack with both legs. She watched herself home in on Maverick's fuzzy head, before it moved to the side, dodging her kick. She landed on the carpet and rapidly turned to strike again.

"Go on, Brains!" Fred yelled encouragement. "This old guy's got nothing on you! Kick his sorry butt all the way off this ship!"

She swung her second attack: a punch. But just life before, Maverick simply stepped aside as if he were letting someone passed. Her punch hit nothing but air. She threw another one, and again it was avoided. Her head began to fume with frustration; the opponent was making a fool out of her.

The fight was interrupted by a marching noise, the sound of many footsteps. A couple of henchman appeared at the door and entered, followed by another, and then another. They continued to filter into the lounge area two by two and stand by the walls. They didn't stop until there were about two hundred men, lined up around the room, their eyes watching the Protector and their Captain. Fred remained where he stood, by the leather chairs. Sweat was forming on his brow.

"Do not fret. My loyal men are just going to enjoy the show." The henchmen's captain explained.

Anger and misery vented in the young agent. She knew it was too easy. She swung another punch, but this time, Maverick caught her fist mere inches from his face. Before he could retaliate, he shoved her fist straight back into her face, into her eye. Brains whelped with pain. Almost instantly, he spun on his heel and executed a back kick. She felt the powerful impact in her gut, along with the air in her lungs leaving her body as his shoe made contact. She hit the ground again about six feet back. Her stomach radiated with a pain like she had eaten too much candy.

The room exploded with applause. The crew cheered and whistled encouragement to their captain, along with phrases like: "You show her, Captain!" and "That'll feel sore in the morning!" Out of the men cheering, one was not. Fred stared on, his mouth agape, his eyes wide and his pupils narrow.

"Get up, Brains!" Fred's support was drowned out by everyone else's. "You can still beat him!"

Brains fought to get her feet back, retching halfway through. She knew she was in trouble now. In all her years of service, she has taken on great challenges and even greater foes, and always came out on top. She was an expert in several styles of martial arts. However, her opponent has mastered even more forms of fighting techniques, according to his file.

She burst into a full sprint. She slide on the carpet, under Maverick's swiping hand. As she slid past, she spun on her hip and delivered a menacing kick to the back of his leg. He grunted as he fell on his knee. Brains made use of this opportunity and punched the man in his hairy face. The first blow swiped what she hoped was his chin, the second connected with his cheekbone. Maverick fell onto all fours. The audience began to hiss and boo, urging their leader to get up.

"That's it, Brains!" Fred encouraged her success. "Wear him down!"

Brains kicked the downed enemy in the face. His head flung back along with his spine, making him kneel upright. She followed through with another punch, but it was blocked. With his other hand, he swung it up, delivering an uppercut into her chin. Her lower row of teeth clicked against the upper row. She stumbled back, somehow managing to stay on her feet.

The room seemed to be shifting left and right, throwing off the girl's balance. The immense noise dulled to her ears, almost becoming silent. He buzzing returned. Maverick stood up straight, rubbing his face with the back of his hand.

She glared at her adversary with rage-filled eyes, the right one still sore. She took lurching steps towards him, building up speed with every step. She jumped at him again and kick straight at his face. Maverick caught her leg and, using her momentum, threw her down. She slammed face-first into the floor, the crowd roared louder.

With her leg still in his grip, Maverick lifted the girl up by her ankle. Agent Brains dangled upside-down. Her arms hung freely. Her long hair touched the ground. She opened her eyes. Everything was the wrong way up. All the blood in her body rushed to her head, piling pressure on her aching skull. She got a good look at his shoes and his trouser legs.

Then Maverick punched Brains in the chest.

The punch sent her flying. She landed on her head before rolling over and landing on her hands and knees, screeching to a stop. She attempted to regain her footing, but pain emerged in her chest causing her to crumple to the floor. She clutched her chest, trying desperately to ease the ache.

The crowd's reaction went from cheering to groaning the moment she fell. All of them felt the hurt in that blow, even from where they stood. Fred clutched large handfuls on hair, the tension building in his mind as he watched her get pummelled. _He's going to kill her..._Fred dreaded in his mind.

"Good technique... strong form..." Maverick complimented. "But you lack discipline, commitment."

This time, he made his move towards the downed agent. He moved with no sense of urgency. His steps were like tremors to Brains' ears. She lifted her head just in time to see the ex-Protector a few steps away. Using what little strength she had left, she got up just as he swung a punch. She ducked under it and countered with a punch into the abdomen. Maverick swung again, she dodged and delivered another blow. Unfortunately, she couldn't avoid the third. She stammered back.

Before Maverick could strike again, a figure jumped between them. Fred. He held his arms up to his face, shielding it in case he took a stray blow. His move may have been risky, but it got the two to stop fighting.

"Enough! That's enough!" Fred stood before the brutish man.

Brains leaned forward, gripping Fred by the shoulder. "No, Fred. I can still take him." She murmured in his ear.

"He was going to kill you, Brains..." He turned towards her and whispered. "I'm trying to buy you some time here. We need another plan."

Maverick remained where he was for a few moments, his fist still clenched. Eventually, he dropped his stance, breathing a calming sigh. "You're right, Mr Luckpuig. I almost got carried away there." He glanced over the boy's shoulder, into the background. "Guards, please subdue Miss Robeaux."

Their eyes shot open to what he just said. Before any of them could react, someone from the crowd fired at them. The blue beam hit Agent Brains. Nothing, not all her years of training or her many scraps, could prepare her for the sensation she was met with. The sting made it way to her internal organs, making them want to escape. Her muscles and bones began to spasm out of control. Her scream pierced everyone's ears. Mercilessly, the beam stopped. She slumped to the floor, smouldering like hot coal.

"No!" Fred shot arrows at Maverick with the angriest look he's ever made in his life. "You...! You...!" He let his emotions go, and lunged at the monster right in front of him. He unleashed a barrage of punches into his sweater vest. Maverick made no attempt to fight back, nor did he need to. He simply stood there and took whatever the boy threw. Fred's hands hurt with every blow; it was like he was beating a statue.

"Now, now, Mr Luckpuig..." He spoke while being punched. "I think you need to rest a little."

With that, he casually raised his fist and bonked Fred over the head with it, knocking him unconscious. Fred sprawled on the carpet, right next to his next-door neighbour.

Maverick stared down at the two out cold teenagers in his midst. A devilish smile formed. His plan was all coming together.


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Agent Brains' senses gradually began to return to her. The first was her hearing, a faint voice calling her name echoed in the darkness. The second was her touch. Her entire body throbbed as her heart perked to life. She was sitting in a cold, hard seat, which felt like it was made of metal. Something was digging into her wrists and ankles, pinning them down. Third was taste. Her mouth was dry with the flavour of stale air. She moved her tongue around, reactivating her saliva glands. Fourth was her sense of smell, something was burning. It smelled the strongest the more she lowered her head. Was it on her suit? Last, but definitely not least, was sight. Her eyes scraped open against her protesting retinas. Everything was a white and haze. She briefly considered that she had died and gone to heaven. Her name continued to repeat like a broken record, coming from somewhere to the right.

She titled her head in that direction. Right there, was a weird looking blob with a purple top and yellow everywhere else. She squinted (or at least she thought she did) and focused on the splodge. Little by little, her retinas retained control. The image became clearer every second.

"Brains! Wake up, Brains!" The blob said with a familiar voice. She realised it was Fred. He was sat in a grey chair with metal clamps around his wrists and ankles. "Please tell me you're okay. Please."

Brains' shook her head groggily from left to right, attempting to shake some of the dizziness away. It helped a little, she hoped. She swept her eyes around, nothing to see by a blinding, white room with a single door. The floor was a reflective black, just like the one in the hanger, only way cleaner. If this was an interrogation room, it was a pretty poor one. There wasn't even a viewing panel with the one-way glass. The ceiling was unnecessarily tall. Brains began to wonder if this ship even had a second floor, and why Maverick even had a room like this while every other room she encountered was fit for a king.

"I... I... I'm okay... Fred..." Brains said with a croaky voice. "What happened?"

"You got toasted by a laser beam. I got knocked out shortly after. When I regained consciousness, we were strapped to these chairs in this room. I was beginning to fear you were dead. I've been trying to wake you for ages." Fred explained.

Brains focused on her restrains that were digging uncomfortably into her skin. She wriggled her gloved hands, but the clamps seemed to tighten more. Her wrists were going to pop if she kept it up.

"Are you sure you're okay? You got beaten up pretty bad back there." Fred couldn't help but notice the many bruises on Brains' face - most notable was her right eye, which was black around the edges. The bruises stood prominent on her pale skin, almost like the spots on a Dalmatian. Her jumpsuit's hotrod red had degraded into a shade of burnt umber. The silk was tattered and the badge was slanted, holding on by a thread.

"I said I'm fine." She answered, but deep down she still felt unwell. An uneasy queasiness still rumbled her inners. "We need to find a way out of this room. I don't suppose you have any ideas?" She asked the boy. It was understandable considering he had been conscious for longer than she has. Maybe he had noticed a way out of their bonds.

"I was kind of hoping you'd have one." Fred let out an embarrassing grin.

Brains sighed in an irritated manner. "Then I guess we better get started."

The teenage boy and girl frantically began to scan their surroundings. The white walls were seamless, no loose panels or conveniently placed nail jutting out that they could use to pry their restraints open. Brains tried to see if she could move her chair, but it seemed to be wielded to the ground. Brains began to wonder what else they could try.

Fred became lost in his own thoughts for what seemed like minutes. Everything was almost too much for him to handle. He was beginning to fear that he may never return to Earth and see his family and friends again. One thought led to another, and soon he found himself counting the number of hours he's been away from home. He hoped that his parents had not found out about his absence. Now he was beginning to fear whether there would be an Earth to return to after all this.

Brains was hit with an idea: her watch. Maybe she could call the Super Commander for help. She looked down at her wrist, and grumbled under her breath. _He took my watch... great..._

"Thought of anything?" Fred asked with an eager tone.

Brains murmured, wanting to avoid answering that. Realisation kicked in. She glazed her eyes unable hide it anymore. She was stumped. "Nope."

"So, erm..." Fred paused, a bead of sweat tricked down his forehead. "We're done for?"

"Yeah... we're done for."

Right on schedule, the door opened. Footsteps ended the dead silence. Entering the room was a familiar figure. Just the sight of him made their blood boil. "I'm glad to see that you're both finally awake."

"Maverick!" Brains spat. A wave of fury drove off whatever grogginess remained. She fought one more against the clamps, making a final, feeble attempt to engage the target. The only thing that succeeded in doing was pile further agony on her wrists. Now she couldn't feel her digits.

"Were you, by any chance, expecting Egghead?"Maverick joked as he neared them. He came to a halt where they could see him.

"Very funny..." Brains said sarcastically. "Let us out of these things."

"I'm afraid I can't do that. Not yet, anyway." The man scratched his chin, a playful smile rose on his lips. "But I have to say you must have quite the spry to be making demands after being a human electrical discharge insect control system." He turned to Fred, said 'bug zapper', then turned back to Brains. "Usually the after-effects of the paralysing laser last for hours after the subjects regain consciousness, but you've recovered ahead of schedule, which is good because now the next phase of my plan can commence."

"Listen, I've had enough of being left in the dark!" The young agent shouted. "Tell me your plan right here, right now!"

Fred hesitated to chime in, startled by her sudden burst of anger. "I'd still like to know why you had to kidnap me."

"Well, I guess I have left you two in the dark for too long." Maverick spoke. "Very well, I shall explain my plan to you."

Braianna unknowingly leaned forward, ears ready to hear what amazingly stupid scheme this guy had brewed up. She had nothing better to do. She was strapped to a chair. The room had no interesting features whatsoever. The smartly dressed man with the unusually polite dialect was the only thing of any significance at that very moment, and that was not including the boy right beside her.

"To fully understand my idea, I feel that you must first understand my story. It all started when I was a young agent of the Protectors. Oh, how I fondly remember those day... I was a different person back then with a head filled with youthful hopes and dreams. I even used to shave back in those days."

The two teenagers each raised an eyebrow at the last sentence, perplexed that the grizzly man before them was even aware of the natural, daily activity known as shaving. Fred still couldn't shake the image that Maverick was born with that facial fuzz.

"Back in the day, I was determined more than anything to be one of the greatest agents in the galaxy. Because of me, Earth was saved from destruction thousands times – two-thousand-four-hundred-and-fifty-seven times to be exact. I, like you, Miss Robeaux, received many medals for my efforts. However, no matter how many times I saved the Earth, there was always another alien willing to destroy it." He began to pace left and right. "I found myself questioning my beliefs with every failed attempt. Over time, I grew a certain disdain for extraterrestrials. Every alien I stopped made it grow more and more. I realized that I wasn't saving the Earth - I was merely delaying the inevitable. I became terrified that I would eventually make one mistake, one error of judgement that would see those aliens succeed.

"One day, after stopping some self-proclaimed alien mastermind from vaporising Earth with a planet buster, I realised that this was my chance to make a change. If he was so willing to destroy my home planet, then I would destroy his. Everything was all set, the target was set, and the weapon was ready. I could have finally ensured the Earth's safety that day... if not for him."

"Him?" Brains whispered. "You mean, my father?"

"Yes. Your father, the Super Commander, stopped me from destroying that planet. He fought to his bones to protect those aliens, the ones who would have seen the Earth vaporised and not shed a single tear. He saved those creatures simply to safeguard the agency's own reputation, and yet he called me a disgrace to everything the Protectors stood for."

"Or maybe my father was protecting the Earth from retaliation? Did you ever think of that?" Brains bounced back. Nobody knew the Super Commander better than his own daughter. She knew her father would never allow anything that would forsake Earth's protection.

Maverick continued, ignoring her comment. "I didn't wait to be apprehended, so I escaped. I spent those next few years waiting, while trying to find a way to ensure the Earth's protection. I built this ship at no little effort, amassed my faithful crew, but the answer hadn't come to me yet.

"That was until I stumbled upon the most beautiful thing I've ever seen." Maverick pulled out his device and pressed a button. A blueprint of a cylinder filled the centre of the room. Its shape and appearance was exactly the same as the one he stole from the Protectors ship yesterday. "Do you know what this is?"

"Umm..." Fred began, staring at the floor in thought. "Can I phone a friend?"

"I know what that is. It's a weapon," Brains answered. "And you stole it."

"No. No, I didn't." Maverick spoke. "What you saw was the model I took from the Protectors yesterday. This model, I found years ago."

"You mean you have **two **of these things?!" Her eyes turned into pinpoints. She witnessed the power of one of those weapons. Now, she struggled to imagine the destructive force of two of them.

"Yes. However, that was not the real question. The real question is where did they come from? What its true purpose is? This artefact is far older than originally perceived, and is actually, believe it or not, millions of years old."

"Millions?!" Brains shook her head. "That's impossible. No way had that thing survived this long."

"Nothing is impossible, Miss Robeaux. The artefact is made out of an unknown alloy and designed to withstand even the harshest elements. Its creation is the work of sheer genius. So genius, in fact, that it is still operational even after all those years. The beam can actually differentiate between natural and built objects. Mother Nature is spared while anything else: structures, roads, ships, vehicles, creatures, animals, all are completely erased."

"How does that work?"

"I don't know, nor do I care. What matters is that I will use this weapon to secure the Earth's safety for thousands of years."

A question popped into Fred's head. "Who built it?"

"Sadly, I cannot answer that question. At the moment, no other relics of the species that existed before us have been recovered."

"Then what happened to them?" Fred continued to press on.

"I cannot answer that question either. They could have left this galaxy, or they could have become extinct. It could be because of what this laser can do." Maverick smiled once more. He pressed another button. The hologram changed to a planet with the weapon pointing at it. The planet was an illustration with several forms of ugly species and big buildings around the radius. "It wipes planets clean." The weapon fires on the planet. In one moment, the litter of aliens and buildings disintegrate, leaving only the planet in its original nature. "And I'm going to use the laser to wipe the galaxy clean of all alien life, until nothing but humans remain."

The kids gasped in horror. "What?!" They both said in unison.

"You're insane! Your plan will never work!" Brains screamed. "You're going to end up getting yourself and the Earth destroyed if you proceed with this! Even with two laser weapons, you won't get away with this!"

"Who said anything about me using both weapons?" Maverick began to giggle. It was like he was building up to this moment, and now his excitement was about to explode. "I won't be the culprit if there's someone else to take the blame. If they found a planet-cleaning weapon with a secret organisation of galactic peacekeepers, for example, they won't be looking for me."

"You're going to frame the Protectors?!" Fred blurted.

"I know! Quite ingenious, isn't it? Destroy two birds with one stone. With the Protectors and aliens gone, humanity will finally be allowed to leave Earth. And when they find a vast selection of empty planets to colonize..." He ended with another giggle. There was no need to finish that sentence.

Agent Brains had never been angrier in her entire life. Her hair on her head was on the verge of dropping out of their roots. Her blood could literally be used to boil water. Fred, however, was on the other end of the spectrum. This guy's scheme had put him so far on edge. His right hand twitched with an overwhelming urge to roll his lucky dice.

"Good luck with that. You're never going to succeed in pinning the blame on the Protectors." Brains vision was turning red.

"Oh, but here comes the best part, Miss Robeaux." Maverick took small, joyful steps closer to the girl. "I'm not going to frame the Protectors..." All of a sudden, he shoved his finger straight into her nose. She flinched as pain returned to her face. "You are!"

"What?!" She choked. "No! No way! I'll never help you! Not in a million years!" Her mind switched off. She was just refusing with every single term she could think of.

"You won't have a choice, Miss Robeaux. I've dabbled with many forms of technology through my lifetime, and sometimes the old-fashioned methods are the best." He reached behind his back and pulled out some kind of belt. It was black with little fancy strips of wires along the side. He held it the same way someone awarded an Olympic gold medalist. "In his case: mind control. I specially crafted this just for you. This device will make you my unwavering ally. You will fight for me, and you will die for me."

Without waiting, he began to try and strap the mind control headband on her. Brains desperately swung all around in her chair, resisting. She constantly screamed "No!" as she delayed in inevitable. She tugged like crazy on her bonds. She had to break free. She had to get out. Fred, too, was going mental in his chair. He begged and bargained with the man to not go through with this.

Maverick eventually slipped the band over her head and pulled the strap tight. The second the band touched her skull was the second the piercing pain began. Brains let out a chilling scream, scrunching her eye shut. The signal dug deep into her mind like a thousand knives. Her memories were disappearing under a tide of nothing.

"Stop! Please!" Brains begged. Tears were streaking down her face. "I... can't... think..."

Fred turned to the man. He showed pure desperation. "Don't do this, please! I'll do anything you want!"

The grizzly man ignored the boy's pleas. He simply watched with a blank face as the secret agent thrashed about. He had guessed that this intelligent girl would of had an impressive mental resistance, so he had made that mind control device purely for her. Soon, her suffering would stop.

"I... I..." She was shaking. Her eyes were still closed. She shot her head straight up, letting out a weak wail. The forced darkness in her brain had reached a powerful crescendo. Every scrap of memory was suppressed and replaced with a single order: obey. She opened her drenched eyes; they were filled with a new purpose.

"Agent Brains, at you command, Captain Maverick."


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Fred just sat there. His pupils were narrow, jaw on the floor. Did he just hear Brains say that, or was it his imagination? With another beep from the handheld device, the shackles retracted from Brains' seat. The girl sat there for a couple of seconds, making no sudden movements or attacks against her enemy. She heaved herself off the metal and stood before him, his height looming over her. Her head tilted upwards until her eyes met his.

"Are you ready to destroy the Protectors, Miss Robeaux?" Maverick asked.

Brains' straight face remained solid before her lips arched into a grin. "Yes, Captain Maverick." She answered with a tone of voice that suggested appeasement.

"Brains?" Fred called out to her. "Please tell me that's still you..."

Brains twisted her head in Fred's direction in same way a puppet would. Her eyes made contact with his. As soon as he seen them, his hope was tarnished. Her red irises were emotionless, dull. It was like staring through an open window to an empty room. Her smile had devolved back into a frown, and remained closed and quiet. She didn't say a single word to him, but the expression on her face practically said "I don't know you." Whoever this person was, it wasn't Braianna. She looked like her, she dressed like her, she sounded like her, but the spark that made her who she was, was gone.

Nothing but sadness and despair filled Fred's mind. A wet sensation formed under his eyelids. "You monster!" He cried. "How can you do this to her?!"

"I take no pleasure in this, Mr Luckpuig. I'm only doing this for the greater good of mankind." The grizzly man said. "You will be escorted shortly to a temporary quarter; there will be enough things in there to keep you occupied until his ordeal is over. After which, you will be allowed to return home." He turned back to address the brainwashed girl. "Follow me to the hangar, Miss Robeaux."

With that, Maverick and Brains started to make their way towards the exit. Their backs were turned to the boy, who was left shackled to the chair and left to drown in his own desolation. Maverick's leather shoes tapped on the smooth floor while Brain's boots squeaked. They walked side-by-side, the same way two best friends would walk to class. Fred allowed his head to drop while shaking it out of denial. He scrunched up his eyes, and a small tear fell onto his jean legs.

"Hey! At least answer me this one question!" Fred yelled. The pair stopped right in their tracks and faced him. Neither of them exhibited any signs of impatience. "If I'm such a fascinating specimen, then why are you keeping me locked away? If you see me as something more, why don't you put a headband on me, huh?"

Upon hearing that question, Maverick raised an index finger to Brains, telling her to wait there. He proceeded to walk back across the room towards Fred. He felt an uncomfortable feeling rise with every step the man took. He struggled to look him in his stern, brown eyes. Maverick stopped when he overshadowed the boy's small frame, and leaned down to stare him in the face.

"Because, Mr Luckpuig..." Maverick spoke in a sincere manner. His bad breath, thick with whisky and bourbon, almost knocked Fred out again. "You frighten me."

"Frighten?" Fred was taken back by that. "You mean you're scared of me?"

"I have to be honest with you. If my plan were to fail, I believe it won't be because of poor planning, or because I was careless, or because of the Protectors." He leaned closer to Fred's ear. He wanted to make sure the teenager got this next part. "It will be because of you."

Without saying anything else, he marched back to Brains' side and the two of them left the room. Fred was given a minute of time alone to think about what he had said. Maverick was scared of him because he thinks the average, teenage boy will somehow ruin his plan? That sounded too farfetched to be true.

* * *

The usually quiet hanger was now hustling with energy. Ever since Maverick had built the ship, the hanger had ironically been the quietest area. The only shuttles that ever left and returned were piloted by the captain himself. Maverick rarely sent his own men on missions. As loyal as they were, he didn't trust them enough to complete his tasks. If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. However, now he was sending his troops off with someone who he can trust.

A transport ship was being prepped and ready for launch. Judging by the size, it was hard to believe that it had been housed in the dreadnought all along. The hull was thick with shiny plating and large enough to carry a crew of thirty. Maverick and the brainwashed Agent Brains stood before the ship and the squad formed outside. In a few moments, the next step of the master plan will commence.

"Listen carefully, Miss Robeaux." Maverick said, waiting for her to make eye contact. "Take this shuttle and these men, and assault the Protectors mothership." Right on cue, one of the planet-cleansers was wheeled into the area and placed onboard the transport ship. "Subdue the crew and the Super Commander, but don't kill them. Then take control of their ship and go to the planet Meltro, where you will use the weapon to purge it. This will definitely gain the attention of the Galactic Union. Delay them for as long as you can..." He paused to clear his throat. "Until the Protector ship is destroyed, along with yourself."

Agent Brains expressed as evil grin. Her mind had been programmed to accept any order her master issued, even those that would require her to give her life. "Yes, Captain Maverick."

"Good. Now go." Maverick pointed towards the ship.

The crew marched onto the transport ship, moving single file up the access ramp. All they were waiting for now was for the girl to pilot. She began to make her way towards the ship.

"One more thing, Miss Robeaux." Maverick called out. Brains stopped on the ramp. "Give the Super Commander my regards."

Brains nodded, spoke an affirmative, and proceeded to board the ship. She passed the crew and the weapon to get to the cockpit. The henchmen were strapped to their seats, silent and still. They were simply waiting to reach their destination. Brains jumped into the seat behind the controls. The setup was drastically different from her personal ship, but she figured out what was what. Taking the helm, she shot the ship out of the hanger and into space. Her destination: the Protectors' ship.

* * *

The floor was impeccably clean, like staring at a blank slate. Fred was being dragged down the hall. His head hung low and the tops of his sneakers scraped the floor. There were two guards escorting him to his cell, both of them holding each of his arms.

Fred was deep in thought. Everything was so messed up. He had been in many tight situations before, but this one took the cake. Braianna had been brainwashed to attack the same organisation she worked for, and Friday was being held elsewhere. Maverick's plan to wipe out almost everything in the galaxy was something out of a b-movie, conjured by a stereotypical villain stroking a white cat. Now he was even more worried about returning home only to find an empty space where Barcelona used to stand. There was literally no one else to turn to for help.

Fred broke out of his thoughts and glanced up at one of the guards. Everything above the guard's nose was shrouded by the large helmet. Fred couldn't help but wonder how any of them could see. The chin strap hung loose.

Fred realised that no one was going to save him. If he had to do something, he had to do it now. He lowered his head again, trying to think of a plan. The guard's legs moving in the corner of his eyes, along with their oppressive steps on the carpet, were distracting him. He looked to his right, watching the pant legs step left and right, one after the other. He retrieved a brief memory of the fight between Brains and Maverick. There was a time where Brains slide past Maverick and kicked him in the back of the knee. That move allowed her to gain the upper hand, even if it were for a brief moment.

Without thinking, Fred made a desperate move. He quickly gained his footing and jumped. The guards barely had time to react before he drove his feet into the backs of their legs. Both guards tumbled down, losing their grasp on the teenage prisoner as they fell.

Fred stood there for a brief moment. That move was the only thing he had thought to do; the rest of his plan was nonexistent. He had not thought this through, thinking the next part would have written itself. His basic instinct told him to fight. He threw a punch at the guard on his right. It was a blind throw, and he clipped the back of his loosely-fitted helmet. The impact made it swing off his head, hit the floor and roll away lopsided. A second after his punch made contact, he clutched his sore fist. He hopped up and down, trying anything to cope with the agony in his bony hand.

"Stop right there!" Someone yelled. Fred wanted to keep fighting, but a more powerful urge beckoned him to stop. He shot straight up like elastic, unsure about what was waiting beside him.

Slowly, he turned around while expecting the worst. He was right. The guard was aiming his rifle straight at him. The nozzle glowed blue with a white centre. His facial expression could be summed up pretty well with his big frown. Fred felt his arms rise by themselves. He held his open palms above his head, making it abundantly clear that he had no intentions of running.

_Nice one, Fred._ His inner thoughts mocked. _Real smooth._

The other guard (the one who lost his helmet) was slowly getting to his feet. His head came into Fred's view. His face was something that suited a surfer, with whooshing, blonde hair and blue eyes. He rubbed his eyes and shook his head in a fashion similar to waking up in the morning. He opened his eyes and immediately seen the fellow henchman beside him before following his rifle to the lilac-haired boy.

The armed guard stumbled upright, struggling to keep the sights on the target. "Nice try, but I wouldn't suggest—"

All of a sudden, the other guy leaped forward throwing his body straight into the guard with the gun. He tackled the guard's waist. The guard squeezed the trigger firing a stray shot that almost hit the prisoner as they tumbled. Fred jumped back, startled by the shot. He was just about to make a break for it, before the helmet-less guy called out.

"Help me..." He grunted as the guard fought back. "Take his helmet off!"

Fred, once again, stood idly. Never before had he been so confused in a single day. That guard, who just seconds ago was a loyal servant, was now asking for his help. Eventually, his senses kicked in, and he decided to help that guy. He charged up to them and grabbed the strap of the guard's helmet.

"No! No! Captain Maverick will not allow this-" The guard spat as Fred loosened the strap. As soon as the strap was slack, the other guard grabbed the helmet and pulled it away. His fighting came to a sudden halt. He let out a sigh. "Thank goodness. I'm me again."

The blonde guy rolled himself off the guard. He lay on the floor for a bit, panting and gasping heavily. The other guard rubbed his eyes. The other guard had gelled brown hair and dark eyes.

The blonde guy spoke to Fred. "Thanks for taking that helmet off. Sorry if I were too rough with you."

"I'm sorry..." Fred said. Nothing was making sense. "But what the heck is going on here? Aren't you two supposed to be, like, taking me to a cell or something?"

The blonde guard reacted over and grabbed his helmet. He brought it over to Fred and showed him the inside. Fred peered in and the only thing he saw was a black band around the inside. It looked just like the same band that was placed on Braianna.

"That madman Maverick had been keeping us loyal with mind control." He explained. "He attached these headbands to everyone on the ship – including his science team. Nobody would be crazy enough to follow his plan."

The brown haired guy lifted his head. "Yeah. Hey kid, I'm sorry about aiming that gun at you. I wasn't myself back there."

"Who are you guys?" Fred asked.

The blonde haired guy pointed at himself. "I'm Jake," He switched the direction of his digit to the other guy. "And you are...?"

"Greg." The brown haired man answered.

"If you were under mind control, how do you know that he's used them on everyone here?" Fred asked.

"The headbands simply make you susceptible to Maverick's orders. You retain your consciousness and memories, but you are controlled into believing that he is the most important thing in the universe, and you would do anything he commanded you to do."

Fred bit his lip. His thoughts turned from the entire crew to his friend. That poor girl was suffering the same fate as these two were, and was know hardwired to that man's command. For some reason, he imagined the real Brains buried deep in her mind, pounding on the walls, trying desperately to get out.

"Oh no, Brains..." Fred blurted out.

"Brains? You mean Agent Brains? That girl?" Greg asked.

"She's been given one of those headbands too. She's been sent to destroy her organization, while Maverick uses that laser weapon."

"You mean his plan has been put in motion?!"

The two guards stare at each other, not giving Fred a chance to answer. The nervousness was building on their faces. They both shot to their feet.

"Then we don't have much time." Jake said. "We've got to figure out a way to stop him."

"Right!" Greg agreed. "Anyone got any ideas?"

There was a sudden silence to accompany his enquiry. The three of them pondered. It was a rather awkward and abrupt moment to get silence, especially when they had been building up the anxiety. Greg drummed his fingers along his cheek while Jake tapped on the carpet. Fred joined them. He considered the situation of everything at that point. Brains was probably away by now. Maverick was still somewhere in the dreadnought. Friday was...

Fred queried. "Do you know where'd they keep a robot held prisoner on this weird ship?"

"Maybe. Why?" Greg responded.

"Brains brought an annihilator unit here with her, a robot that can transform into almost anything. If we can reach that robot, we will have a chance to fight back."

Almost immediately, they both grinned. "Sounds good to us."


End file.
